European Central Bank says Twitter can predict which direction stocks are heading July 29, 2015 Market mavens should keep an eye on Twitter if they want to know which direction their stock picks are heading, or at least that's what recently published research conducted by the European Central Bank has found. Researchers crunched over 310,000 tweets between 2010 and 2012 containing the words "bullish" or "bearish" – because these are generally used [...]
John Lewis is opening an in-store beauty spa called &Beauty July 29, 2015 Have we just hit peak middle class? John Lewis has unveiled plans for an in-store beauty spa. After all, what better way to recuperate after a hard day’s shopping? If you get too exhausted from all your purchases, just book yourself in for a relaxing massage… It seems simply going to buy things is no [...]
Pearson in talks to sell Economist Group stake after FT Group sale July 29, 2015 Publisher Pearson is said to be in talks to sell off its 50 per cent stake worth about £400m in the Economist Group to other shareholders. A source told the Financial Times that a deal should be wrapped up at some point this summer and potential buyers include families such as Schroders, the Cadburys and the [...]
Greggs share price soars as profits leap and dividend rises July 29, 2015 Greggs' share price jumped nearly six per cent this morning after its first half results showed the business is on a (sausage) roll. The figures The retailer had a strong first half, with sales up 6.4 per cent to £398m and pre-tax profits leaping 51 per cent to £25.6m. The baked goods business is [...]
Foxtons upbeat about second half after pre-election jitters slowed property sales July 29, 2015 Blood on the residential street? Revenues at London estate agent Foxtons have dropped in the first half, as property sales slide. The figures: Group revenue at the agency fell 2.3 per cent to £71.1m for the six months to 30 June, while property sales fell 10.9 per cent against 2014, when the market was operating [...]
Share price of Wembley developer Quintain surges 22 per cent as it confirms £700m Lone Star offer July 29, 2015 Shares in Quintain Estates and Development, the property developer behind London’s Wembley Arena, jumped 22.4 per cent to 131p in early trading after its board recommended a takeover offer from US-based investment firm Lone Star. In an announcement to the stock exchange this morning, the company said Quintain shareholders will receive 131p in cash for [...]
Price war looms after BlackRock slashes fees to offer cheapest fund on the market July 28, 2015 The battle to invest savers’ cash ramped up yesterday after fund giant BlackRock slashed fees on their most popular funds by 50 per cent, giving it the cheapest fund on the open market. The company, which manages $4.7 trillion for investors, said it would cut fees on its UK equity FTSE tracker fund to 0.07 [...]
Majestic to roll out Naked Wines click and collect service in stores July 28, 2015 Majestic Wines said yesterday it will launch a Naked Wines click-collect service in stores across the UK following its £70m acquisition of the younger crowdfunding business earlier this year. The wine retailer said the service had proved a hit with Naked Wines customers after a trial at 22 stores, with over 2,900 orders placed. [...]
Nigel Rich to step down as Segro chairman July 28, 2015 Warehouse developer Segro announced yesterday that its chairman Nigel Rich will step down after a decade in the role. The FTSE 250 company, which owns or manages £6.4bn of assets across Europe covering 5.7m square metres, said Rich will retire at the annual general meeting next year. It has already kick-off the search for his [...]
Drax Group share price powering up as firm swings back into profit July 28, 2015 Shares in power station firm Drax Group leapt up by almost 10 per cent yesterday, after the company swung back to a profit in the six months to 30 June. Drax posted pre-tax profit of £53m, up from a loss of £11m in the same period last year, and increased its dividend to 5.1p per [...]
